Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

….

The Taste of Life

Tenzou

…..

The surf laps at the splintered boards and spars that litter the beach. We stand staring out at the great hulking wreck of a ship caught on a rocky shoal a little ways off shore. It's a mess. The ship, driven far out of the water, leans heavily. One side of the hull is caved-in practically from stem to stern, the tip of the bow is shorn off, and not one of the three masts remains standing.

"Sempai… When you said you had a little favor to ask…"

Sempai scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "The 'little' part might have been a bit of an understatement."

"I'll say! That ship is a colossal mess! You might as well ask me to build a new one from scratch!"

Sempai examines my reproachful face for a few moments, and then turns to gaze wistfully out at the boat. "I see… I was sure I could count on you, Tenzou, but if you can't do it…"

I bristle, and before I know it, my wounded pride has flung out the words, "Don't be ridiculous! Of course I can do it!"

There's a definite edge of smugness to the smile that Sempai's giving me now, and I kick myself for falling into one of his traps, yet again. I swear to myself that this is the last time. Sempai must think he can play me like a fiddle, but I won't let it go on forever. Next time, it will be different. …Next time.

I gather chakra in the soles of my feet, and walk out onto the ocean waves. I reach the wrecked ship, and circle it slowly, taking in the extent of the damage and starting to piece together a plan of attack. There's a gash in the hull near the water line, and I climb through to take a look at how the ship is built from the inside. That's the trouble with fixing an old structure: You've got to tie the repairs in with what's already there.

Sempai has been trailing along behind me with an air of mild (very mild) interest. Eventually, after dogging my steps irritatingly in and out of nearly every room in the ship, he asks me, "How's it look?" Instead of answering him, I climb back out through the hole in the hull.

I look down at the waves rolling under my feet. There's only about a foot of water over the rocks of the shoal, so I let myself sink through it. I'm in much better shape than I was yesterday, fresh from a good night's sleep and well fed, but I'll still need all my concentration and pretty nearly all my chakra for this job. Better to have my feet firmly on the ground.

Keeping a plan of the ship and the changes I need to make steady in my mind, I weave my hand seals, and thrust my palms against the hull of the ship. I push a carefully molded stream of chakra into the lifeless wood. Damaged planks begin to knit together, missing planks are replaced with new growth, and the caved-in side of the ship begins to swell back to its proper shape as the internal joists and cross beams extend. Finally, the three jagged stumps that once were masts shiver to life and stretch skyward.

I hear a cheer rise from the gaggle of sailors back on the beach, but the job feels unfinished to me. I wade back a few meters, panting, and scan my handiwork. My eyes light on the unadorned prow. It looks lonely to me. I wade back to the ship, and with one last push of chakra, the head of a dog, complete with perked ears and a grinning mouthful of teeth, sprouts where the lost figurehead should have been. I hear a chuckle from Sempai behind me, but I don't care. The spirit of things is important too, isn't it?

That little flourish did pretty well finish off the last of my chakra, though, and I stay where I am, leaning against the hull for support. A hand comes to rest on my shoulder. "We'll take it from here, Tenzou. You can rest on the ship while the sailors sort out the rigging and so forth." I think he's done, but after a pause, he adds, "Thanks. This really is a huge help. I don't know where we'd be without you."

The sailors are drawing up to the ship in a rowboat, and Sempai leaves to consult with them. I keep my face to the hull for a little while longer. I've got my breath back by now, but I can feel the heat of a blush rising in my cheeks, and I'd rather not risk Sempai seeing it. His thank you, practically an after-thought and definitely not in proportion to the service rendered, doesn't deserve a blush. I can't help it, though. Praise from Sempai—sincere praise, at any rate—is rare, and it means a lot to me.

And that, I realize, is why my resolution not to be tricked into doing Sempai ridiculous favors will never, ever stick.

….

Sempai's suggestion that I rest on the boat turns out to be impractical. For one thing, the boat may now be whole, but it's still stuck up on the shoal at a crazy tilt. There isn't a single horizontal surface on which to sit or lie. For another, the ship is a-bustle with sailors finishing off the repairs.

As soon as I've recovered enough chakra, I walk back to the relative quiet of the beech. I sit on the sand with my feet in the surf and watch the proceedings at my ease. The morning wears on, and the complex web of rigging starts to take shape around the three new masts. The portion of the hull that I rebuilt is getting a thick coat of pitch, which, much to my surprise, Sempai is helping with. He must really be in a hurry to get going.

By late afternoon, the waterproofing and the rigging are both complete. The sails are hauled into place, and at a sign from Sempai, all the crew members who were outside working on the hull climb up to the deck. Now alone out on the water, he walks half way back to the beach, and then turns to face the boat. He makes another sign to the sailors, and then flashes through a series of hand seals. A wave rises at his feet and rolls out towards the ship, growing in height and speed. As it passes over the shoal, it lifts the ship clear of the rocks and carries it safely out into deeper water.

Sempai half turns and waves for me to come, so I stand up and, brushing the wet sand from my feet as best I can before putting on my shoes, follow him out to the boat. The crew is in good spirits as we sail up the coast to the little port town. Every time one of them passes me, I get a big smile and a thank you. The captain is the most eloquent of all.

"You know, when I first heard from Kakashi-san that he knew someone who would be able to help us out, I was skeptical. Well, you saw the shape our girl was in… To think that she could be fixed in a day! I thought the drink must have gone to his head. But he assured me that you were a man of incredible talent, and that he'd never met someone he could more safely rely on than you. To be sure, I thought he was exaggerating at the time, but now I see that he was in earnest. I can't tell you how grateful I am for what you've done."

I'm somewhat at a loss for words, by this point, but the captain, having said what he wanted to say, turns his mind back to the business at hand, and strides off without waiting for an answer.

I expect that Sempai's glowing recommendation was more of a sales-pitch than an earnest expression of his opinion, but it's still nice to hear it.

….

It doesn't take long to sail the few miles North to the port town, so it's not yet evening when we pull alongside the dock. The crew, eager to be at sea again after a week's enforced stay ashore in a town with no compensating entertainments, sets about resupplying the ship with impressive zeal. Still, the sun has all but set by the time the hold is full, and the captain decides to push our departure back to tomorrow morning. The delay also gives him an opportunity to show his gratitude to the inn-keeper, who he's been importuning for so long. He throws a banquet for her and her husband aboard his newly repaired ship. We're included too, of course. The fare isn't exactly fancy, but it's good, solid food, and there's a lot of it. Most importantly from the inn-keeper's perspective, I expect, she dosen't have do anything about either making it or cleaning it up. The crew handles all of that, so even after the dinner is over, she can sit at her leisure and join the conversation between her husband and the captain.

The husband is a bit of a surprise. I've never met him before, and he's not quite what I would have expected from the spouse of a woman like the innkeeper. He's as unpolished and abrupt as she is gracious and refined, and at first I can't fathom how to two ended up together. I start to get an idea, however, as the conversation progresses. The Master may be crude, but he's far from ignorant. He's a positive wealth of information and advice—as far as ships, trade, and the sea are concerned. I'm no judge, myself, but I can tell that the captain respects his judgment. The two men have their heads together over some proposed alteration to the captain's plans for the season, and the captain is nodding with grave attention to everything the master says. Next to them, the innkeeper's back is growing straighter by the minute, and her eyes are beginning to gleam as pride in her husband's expertise drives away her chronic weariness. He might not be everything she could wish for, but he's got his appeal.

I have to smile, here. I'm reminded of another infuriating, deeply flawed, but charming individual. It must have been the same for her as it is for me.

I look over at Sempai. He's sitting with us, too, but he doesn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation. He's leaning forward with his chin resting on his palm, watching Sai sketch. Now that I think about it, it's a little odd for Sai to be sketching with so many people about. He seems to regard his art as highly personal, and usually wanders off to some private place when he wants to paint. I'm about to ask what he's drawing, when he puts away his brush and hands the scroll he's been working on to Sempai. My surprise grows as Sempai wordlessly passes the scroll to the captain. The captain pauses in the middle of a debate over whether there's likely to be a market for silk in a town I've never heard of, and glances over the scroll. Then, lifting his head, he calls out "KAITO!" His deep, booming voice easily cuts through the chatter of the crew, and one man pops up from the crowd and hastens to his captain's side.

The captain holds out the scroll as he approaches. "Is this the man, Kaito?"

Kaito takes the scroll. His face twists into a scowl as he studies the image. "No doubt, Cap'n. This is the man." He hands the scroll back.

The captain thanks him, and then passes the scroll to Sempai. "Well, there you have it. May the gods of the sea and wind give us speed, for I'd like nothing better than to see you catch this… snake," he mutters grimly.

Sempai is looking unusually serious himself. There's a cold, keen look in his eye; the sort of look he used to get on missions when the critical moment was near. "So do I, Captain, and I appreciate the help you're giving us. Are you sure you won't take any payment for our passage?"

The captain shakes his head, and glances in my direction. His expression lightens visibly. "Not a word more on that head! A free ride is hardly enough, considering what your friend's done for us! I appreciate your offer, Kakashi-san, but I stand by my promise."

Sempai's serious expression dissipates like smoke in the wind. His eye arches into a smile. "Well, if you insist…"

The captain returns to his conversation with the Master, and Kakashi moves to give the scroll back to Sai. En-route, however, he catches sight of my dumbfounded expression, and passes the scroll to me instead. I unfurl the first section, and look at the face outlined there. I recognize it immediately. Yakushi Kabuto. My eyes shoot up to Sempai's face.

"What's this all about, Sempai?"

"Maa… The kids may as well hear this, too, so I'll explain a little later when…" he stops abruptly and his eye jumps to a spot over my right shoulder. His hand darts towards the scroll, as if to hide it, but he's too late.

There's a hastily muffled yelp from behind me. I look up to see Sakura, standing there with wide eyes and a hand still clapped over her mouth. The couple from the inn, the captain, and several of the crew who were close enough to hear are shooting us inquisitive glances. Sempai sighs and turns to the captain. "Sorry, I hadn't quite gotten around to explaining the situation to my team. If you'll excuse me, I think I'd better go do that now." He catches my eye and jerks his head towards the door of the mess. I gather up the kids and herd them out into the corridor while Sempai takes leave of the innkeeper and her husband. He joins us in the hall, and we head off to the cabin the Captain is letting us use.

Sempai closes the door behind us, and settles cross-legged on one of the bunks. Sai retires to the bunk opposite, but the rest of us gather around Sempai.

"Kakashi-sensei… That was a picture of…" Sakura trails off and glances at Naruto. "Did that sailor know something?"

"Oi, oi!" Naruto breaks in. "Can somebody clue me in, here? You guys all seem to know something I don't!"

"No, we're in the same boat you are, Naruto," I assure him. I turn to Sempai with a frown. "So, we're all here, now, and there's no one to disturb us. Care to explain what's going on?"

"Just a moment. Before I start, Naruto's the only one who hasn't seen this yet." He hands over Sai's scroll and watches while Naruto rolls it out.

Naruto's eyes grow wide, and then his face twists into a scowl. "Kabuto!" he spits. For a moment he seems to be caught up in angry memories, but his expression of disgust is gradually replaced by one of confusion. "But Kakashi-sensei, I don't get it." He waves the scroll back and forth. "What's a picture of Kabuto got to do with anything?"

Sempai finally begins his explanation. I'd already guessed from what passed in the mess that the crew member Kaito must have seen a man fitting Kabuto's description, but the news that Kabuto had been on this very boat one week earlier, trying to get to the same island we are, is new to me.

Kakashi finishes off with Kaito's positive identification of Kabuto based on Sai's sketch. "So the probability that Kabuto is involved in the disappearances is very high…" I muse. "But he's left the island at least once since the disappearances started. Reporting back to Orochimaru on his progress, maybe? Anyway, if this is some sort of ongoing project, we have to consider the possibility that Kabuto isn't working alone. There may have been someone else on the island keeping an eye on things while Kabuto was away."

"Mm. That's a definite possibility." Sempai smiles at me.

"Then…" Sakura hesitates, her face a mix of anxious hope and doubt. "There's a possibility that Sasuke's there too?"

This time, Sempai doesn't smile. He regards her carefully before saying gently, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I won't say it's impossible, but it's not likely. Sasuke wasn't with Kabuto on any of the other occasions we've come across him."

Sakura isn't quite ready to give up. "Couldn't Orochimaru's home base be on the island, too? Then Sasuke would…"

Sempai shakes his head. "Orochimaru is trying not to be found. I don't think he'd do something as flamboyant as abducting 100 people in the vicinity of his own base. Someone would be bound to notice and come sniffing around… like we are."

Sakura and Naruto are now both exuding gloom, and Sempai rubs the back of his head. "Maa, maa. At least we know that Kabuto came this way. If we can catch him, it'll be a big step towards finding Sasuke."

"But Sensei," Sakura mutters in a lifeless voice. "According to you, he's got a week's head start. He could have finished what he wanted to do in the Land of Typhoon and disappeared already…"

"Ah… Well the situation's not quite so dire as that. It's true that Kabuto has a week's start on us, but he'll have had to go the long way round. According to the Master, that route takes at least a week. Crossing from here, on the other hand, should get us there in two days. Who knows; we may even get to the islands first."

Naruto's energy returns instantly. "Then what are we waiting for! Let's set sail tonight!"

Sempai laughs. "Don't be in such a rush, Naruto. Leave the sailing to the sailors. If the captain says it's better to start in the morning, then I won't argue with him. The whole crew has been working flat out all day, you know. If the watchman falls asleep and we run up on another shoal, we'll be back to square one."

Naruto pouts and mutters under his breath, but doesn't challenge Sempai's decision.

It's times like this that I have to admire Sempai as a leader. He's the one who's engineered things so that we could leave as soon as possible, and though he doesn't show it openly the way Sakura and Naruto do, I know that Sasuke is important to him, too. He must be unhappy about the delay himself, but here he is, calmly reconciling his team to the wait. I admire his detachment.

Now if only that detachment didn't apply to me, too.

K, time to sleep. I'm toast.